The blood is a great starting point of overall health. If it’s been years since your last blood test, your doctor will likely want you to have a lipid panel, a series of blood tests to measure blood cholesterol.

There are two kinds of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol throughout the body. Tests will measure the levels of both varieties, low-density lipoproteins or LDL and high-density lipoproteins or HDL.

Lead chemistry technologist Arnie Bravener, at Riverview Hospital Laboratory in Wisconsin Rapids, said patients generally fast between 10 and 12 hours before a blood draw at the lab. However, patients should ask a doctor if that also means they should skip medications, some of which can change blood results.

The technician will draw two vials — 7 milliliters each — of blood. He said there is normally just one needle insertion for the blood draw.

It’s not painless but about “like a bee sting,” Bravener said.

Results are typically available in one to 2 hours.

Patients will learn about their HDL and LDL in addition to their overall cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

“You want LDL to be lower,” Bravener said, and it’s often called the “bad cholesterol” responsible for fatty build-up in the arteries and blood.

Patients can try to lower bad cholesterol through dietary changes, exercise and/or medications. Over time, the blood numbers will follow suit.

“It can be very noticeable,” Bravener said.

Cholesterol screening is recommended every 5 five years, for those without risk factors for heart disease or stroke, beginning at age 20 so patients have a baseline, reference point for their medical history.